partychroniclefandomcom-20200214-history
Rennet Halserran
"Each time I wake, I relive the siege. I've tried to just make it end, to just be free. But every time, it brings me back." - 'on his past' Rennet Halserran, also known as The Scepter of Ostwick, was a mage originally tasked with the defence of what was then called 'The Lord's Rest' during the Qunari invasion. Originally leading hundreds of defenders, he was the last one standing in an epic showdown with The Masked One far below, outside the Tomb of Ostuk. In his final moments he called out, and was answered by a figure from beyond the veil. That figure now sustains him way past his natural lifespan, bringing him back to life if he dies or tries to kill himself to escape it. Every once in a while, whether by disruption or otherwise, the residents of the Tomb, refusing to accept death, rise up and fight the war all over again. The Party tried to free him from the Tomb, only to aggravate the spirit or demon that now kept him alive. They watched in terror as he transformed grotesquely into an unknown entity, though he continually fought from within. He escaped after a particularly lethal blow from Kynedrin's axe, and seems well enough to finish this entity off alongside his saviours. Background "I said not like this, not this time. I could not let my home fall to these beasts." By his own account, he was born in the City of Ostwick hundreds of years ago during the Storm Age. He and his sister, Pretya, both possessed tremendous skill as by the time of the Qunari Invasion they were both put in charge of defences. A very talented mage, the legend says that when the Tomb collapsed with him inside, his sister tore apart the Qunari lines in anger and vengeance. However, he did not fall that day. He came very close, being the last survivor of his band of defenders. Over the course of months, the siege continued as their numbers were gradually wittled away, until only he remained. He led the defence valiantly, keeping a journal of the events in hopes of honouring the fallen once they succeeded. Devastating the Qunari lines, he took a moment to breathe before The Masked One manhandled him magically around the room, his raw power too much for even the accomplished Rennet. About to be slain, he called out to something, refusing to fall there and then and let down the entire city. His saviour came in the form of an entity beyond the veil, which provided him with incredible power that crushed The Masked One against the wall with but a single attack. He then limped into the Tomb of Ostuk to recover, only to discover he couldn't leave. For the next two centuries he was forced to relive the siege over and over, the spirits of the fallen refusing to accept their fate and fighting on. As a result, he was forced to witness losing his subordinates and friends again each time. He knew not how long he had been down there, believing at first that the Party was his sister come to rescue him at long last. He bears the scars of many wounds, self-inflicted and otherwise. It seems that whatever spirit served him then, kept him alive and was eventually twisted and transformed into a Demon of Vengeance or Anger. When the fight was done, he was allowed to slumber, though he has no idea for how long between each time. By the time the Party encountered him, he had done this several times, though they potentially broke the loop by slaying the Masked One before he faced down Rennet once again. Involvement "The children probably still remain, gorging themselves on the dead" The majority of his involvement so far has not been has himself, overtaken by the Tomb Horror within him, presumably that which has been sustaining him over the centuries. The entity refused to believe they were not agents of their foes, taking control when they disturbed the Sarcophagus within the Tomb of Ostuk. Before then, he showed the group through a collective vision what had transpired, the war, the sieges, and their gradual retreat. They learned that the Masked One they had faced was not the Karashok as they suspected, but that a tall barbarian figure was instead the commander of the forces that invaded. The saw the brutal showdown between the Masked One and Rennet, as well as what transpired afterwards. He revealed to them the history of the place and tidbits of Ostwickian history as well. The Tomb was originally called 'The Lord's Rest', for it housed the nearly millennia-old tomb of the founder of Ostwick - Ostuk the City-Lord. Built upon in the centuries after Andraste's Rebellion, it became a tomb for the nobility of the city, gaining quite a reputation as a centre of religion due to the number of shrines present. He revealed that he and his sister had shared defence responsibilities during the invasion, as well as the fact most of the defences in place that the Party had encountered were not his making, but in fact the original defences of the Tomb itself. He revealed that the 'Children of Kryknas' that he had written about included the giant centipede they had fought a few floors up. Kryknas was an ancient beast, a source of many tales in the region, and presumably an even more monstrous ancient centipede than the one they fought. The Party tried several ways to help him escape, after verifying that he wasn't what kept the creatures rising time and again. They tried to physically remove him from the tomb, through the doorway, but an ancient barrier prevented his passage, presumably because of what was within him. When the group tried to deal with the problem via the Sarcophagus of Ostuk itself, presuming that whatever drove him rested there, they triggered his transformation. Over the course of the fight, he managed to stop the Tomb Horror from striking true, even blocking a glyph attempt from the entity. Eventually, Kynedrin's deep cut with his throwing axe gave him the opening he needed, the Horror losing control briefly from the damage unloaded on him. Blasting forth via a magical power of some form, he broke out of the creature's body. Tumbling down and landing hard on the Sarcophagus, he rolled over and shielded himself... Category:NPC Allies Category:Mage Category:Human